Inky ^beta

The freak didn’t stop killing for days.

There was no cathartic relief, nothing to mend the wound and no one to take Pure’s place. Violence was all he had left.. After all, they didn’t call him Brutal for nothing. Bloodshed was just a pastime.

He should’ve known that would make him easier to find considering he was, not so coincidentally, the only person in a fifty mile radius wandering in a daze and caked in blood.

“Halt, beast!” Brutal felt the arrow that split the air right past his shoulder, swinging back to see the wrong angel floating above. This angel was much stronger, it seemed, much colder, and- most confusing- not wearing a mask at all. “How pathetic..” The unknown angel circled him with disgust, not even sure where to begin with purifying something so unholy. “I knew that sending an experiment to get rid of you would be futile.”

“Fuck’s that mean?” Brutal croaked, his first words in days straining his throat.

“You did not truly believe that real angels are that weak, did you?” The angel shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve been told that waste of faith spent a long time here. I must admit, I’m curious..” He pulled back his bow, aimed diligently at Brutal’s every movement. “What did he even tell you?”

“Whoever you are.. I don’t owe ya shit.” His fists tightened, filled with fury to the very end. “Ya best go runnin’ back ta yer puny li’l god before I knock that bow outta yer hands.”

“You are as fearless as they say,” the angel lowered his bow, though that only made it easier to float closer and stare into the freak’s burning glare with the same conviction. “Tell me, is that how you intimidated that failed experiment into submission? I’m sure it didn’t take much, I don’t know why the Seraphims believed he had it in himself to kill in the first place.” It was clear the angel was trying his best to coax more rage out of Brutal. “He’ll never amount to anything more than your doormat.”

“You shut yer mouth!” The freak barked back, reaching tentatively for his machete. “He’s the sweetest damn thing I’ve ever met.. If anyone’s a real angel, it sure as hell ain’t you.”

To that, the angel burst out laughing, just as condescending and disapproving. “You disgusting beast.. You have no idea what you’re talking about, do you? I’m glad he is someone else’s problem now.”

“You.. if ya did somethin’ ta my angel, I’ll-”

“Oh, heavens no.” The higher deity didn’t even flinch as the machete swung close to his face. “That impostor disgraced the heavens with his presence all of his own accord.”

Brutal snarled, putting more effort than he liked into concealing how hurt he was by the confirmation that Pure had left of his own accord. “Yer just a buncha ungrateful bastards, aren’t ya?! He wastes alla his time on yer looney delusions, just for ya ‘ta talk shit about ‘im. Lotta guts.. Aint you lot all about lovin’ thy- whatever the fuck?!”

“I am through with this, there is no need for you to understand.” The angel scowled, radiating true hatred for the freak as he started to grumble words in a language Brutal didn’t recognize.

Even then, Brutal wasn’t afraid; he simply rolled his eyes, sheathing his machete when he decided the deity was all bark and no bite. He glared back with a similar scowl, unphased, until the angel opened his eyes with a look of true horror.

“Why- why are you under a protection spell?”

The freak couldn’t help the wicked grin that spread across his face. “Unless ya plan on explainin’ yerself, I’m not tellin’ ya shit. Run along, now.”

“You foul.. Demon!” The angel hissed and recoiled in his terror, though he was clearly off to settle his score. “I’ll make sure both you and that filthy fraud are sent to the depths of hell!”

“Yeah? I’d like ta see ya try.” He retrieved his machete once more, only as a warning as the deity soared away. “Do anythin’ ta hurt my angel ‘n I’ll make sure yer prissy li’l wings can’t take ya anywhere!”

Loneliness left him with more questions. None with answers, of course; he couldn’t even explain himself, and why he still thought to protect Pure knowing he was gone of his own free will. He had no clue why Pure had failed his one task so miserably, though he didn’t exactly mind their previous arrangement. It felt odd, to go from despising the angel’s very presence to absolutely adoring him- and then for it all to be taken away in one night.

Considering the way that the other angel spoke of him, though, it seemed like Pure was setting himself up for failure by returning.

It was true; Pure had already succumbed to regret, wallowing in his misery curled up on the love angel’s bed. He felt trapped, stuck between the demon pulling him in one direction and Cupid pulling him in the other; to his dismay, the demon was much louder.

”What, you’re just going to give up now? Wake up, we do not have time for this.

The angel couldn’t explain why sleep felt like his only escape, even when he could never quite escape the demon’s influence in the confines of his own dreams. “I do not know anymore,” he admitted, brought to the limit of his own exasperation. “This is where I belong, isn’t it?”

”Mon ange, what is wrong? I’ve told you already..-”

Pure panicked again. “That’s enough, I don’t want to hear it! You have done nothing but torment me.. Je te déteste.”

The demon seemed to be truly humbled for a moment, pausing to speak much softer. ”Listen to me, I am the burning feelings within you.. the emotion you do not dare to unleash. I am not against you, I wish to help you… do not fight me, mon ange.”

Even then, the angel was in complete disbelief. “The Lord will judge you, demon.. you should know better than to harass one of his sacred guardian angels. Leave me be, if you know what is good for you.”

”I know what is good for you- us! Listen to me, you imbecile! And I cannot go away, I am your own mind! Dumbass, how can I be so blind?!”

As much as he disagreed, Pure still took offense. “You aren’t me.. For one, I would never dare to shout such vulgarities at a holy being. And, again, your words do not represent what I feel. You simply..” There was a twinge of doubt inside of him, deep rooted as he spoke. “..want me to think that way.”

“You struggle.. You know you’re lying to yourself.” Instead of another snarky comment, the demon truly paused to consider once more. ”Here.. Let me make it easier for you.”

At first, Pure couldn’t tell what had taken over his dream; there was light cutting through the abyss, and then what he’d first assumed to be a reflection, until his carbon copy ripped off his own mask with a sigh of relief.

”Bonjour, you see?” The demon- though it was hard to call him such now- extended his arms towards the hesitant angel.

“I am seeing things..-” Pure was pulled suddenly into the demon’s embrace, the other pair of wings enveloping him like he’d previously done to Brutal.

”Bon.. Speak to me. Tell me everything. It is our own secret.. Our own mind, after all. I am not a threat, see? Despite what you believe.. Je t’aime de tout mon coeur.”

“I- non..” The angel was too weak to argue much further or even break free; instead, he pleaded madness. “What is wrong with me? I have gone so far that I am seeing double?”

”Please, do not think so hard.. I want to know what thoughts trouble you outside of this personal barrier.” The demon sounded genuine, which was much more troubling to Pure than if he was a conniving snake.

That was enough for him to finally confess. “..I want to mean something to Brutal.” In his desperate hope that the demon could somehow help, he reciprocated the hug with trembling arms. “I want him to depend on me, want me around..”

”Bon..” The demon smiled, truly proud; he very delicately pried off the angel’s own mask- a figment of his own imagination of course, but a nuisance nonetheless- and brushed his fingers through the shaken angel’s hair before pressing a soothing kiss to the golden locks. ”Didn’t you already have that?”

“I.. I don’t know. He is so far away now, and it is all my fault..”

To his demon companion, the solution seemed very simple. ”Mm.. why don’t you save him from such pain, then? He needs to be saved just as much as you do.”

Despite the fact that protecting Brutal was Pure’s one sworn duty, he still hadn’t figured out what protection the freak needed. “How..?”

The demon was practically ready to answer. ”Let him into your heart, set yourself free from holy burden- worship someone who will truly love you.”

Something about those words- no matter how right they felt, made Pure squirm with the innate fear of damnation. “No- you’re doing it again! You are working with the devil-!”

In one swift motion, Pure was pulled forward into a kiss; at least, what he’d expected to be a kiss. The demon’s matching facade had disappeared as soon as their lips met. It was a strange feeling, loneliness and completion, the panic of confliction and the calm of determination all at once. He was finally coming to a conclusion, finally making his own decision to leave; until, of course, Cupid dared to interrupt his slumber.

“Pure, y’know ya can’t keep.. sleepin’...”

At first he was too groggy to even speak, rolling away from the other angel defiantly until Cupid tapped his shoulder again. “Pourquoi pas.. I am too weak.” He couldn’t even find solitude in his dreams so long as he ignored the demon and condemned his teachings, let alone with the judgemental eyes of every angel in heaven upon him.

Cupid had clearly never seen an angel sin like this. “..but it’s-”

“I know,” Pure sniffled, burying his face in one of the bed’s heart shaped pillows. “I understand.. What I don’t understand is why I came back here!”

“Yer losin’ it, lovey.. Don’t let it get to ya. We’ll get over this.” It was clear by the way Cupid reached out to rub his shoulder that the love angel was concerned, though Pure didn’t even have the heart to look him in the eyes again.

“Mon cupidon, tu es doux.. But you could not possibly comprehend it..” Pure paused on morbid curiosity, holding his tongue until it got the best of him. “Don’t you hear the whispers?”

Cupid’s face shifted suddenly, clearly understanding more than he’d confess. “Pure.. Trust me, I know ya wouldn’t- we shouldn’t even talk about it, alright? I wanna help ya get better.”

”Do not listen to him.” The demon interjected again, this time abruptly. ”He wants to rip everything you desire out of your hands, to keep you all to himself. They are all so selfish.. Why can’t you be?”

Pure was terrified of the fact that he, for once, agreed.

“Why won’t you leave me alone?” Though his voice was calm, it was still completely uncharacteristic; the shift in Pure’s voice sent a chill down the other angel’s spine.

“‘Cause I care about ya, love.. ‘N I don’t wanna see ya-”

The word love.. It sent him right back into Brutal’s arms again, so lovesick he couldn’t help but snap. As he twisted around to face Cupid, his eyes melted into the same demonic red, he scowled despite the other angel recoiling in fear.

”Watch your mouth, espèce de poule mouillée. Just because you’ve sworn yourself to love doesn’t mean I owe you my own heart." Cupid was met with even more disgust when he was too terrified to move. ”I cannot take this place anymore. I’m leaving… Non, I’m going home."